The Big Oops
by bigb360
Summary: Ash and Misty are ENGAGED! But...oops!
1. Chapter 1

Misty Waterflower hummed happily as she strolled down the Saffron City Shopping District's busy sidewalk. It was a beautiful spring day, and the weather was only complimenting her already sunny disposition. She ducked into and out of several different shops, carousing their selection of spring and summer wear, excited for the proposition of spending much of her time on the sand and waves. She had another couple of hours to kill before she had to pick up her wedding dress.

Yes, Misty Waterflower was engaged to one of the most eligible bachelors in the region. He was handsome, successful, and best of all, was absolutely enamored with her. She supposed he had been for a very long time. Chuckling to herself, she stepped into another shop. This one had different high-end household appliances for sale that she knew she and her soon-to-be new husband would need when they finally moved into the giant seaside cottage he had procured with her in mind. She blushed at the thought and placed her hand against her hot cheek. There was almost no way she could be happier. This time in her life was almost perfect. What other girl could boast about this kind of a man?

She continued browsing around the various stores in the shopping district. She acquired a few bags with some new outfits and even a few more wedding necessities. She checked her watch again and saw she had about 15 minutes before her dress would finally be completed. She could not wait to try it on and show it off to her silly sisters, Dawn, and May. They would all be so jealous. She smiled mischievously at the thought as she realized suddenly she had a craving for ice cream. Ice cream before a wedding dress fitting? Could she swing that? Sure she could. She'd swim it off that night with Gyarados.

She turned at the next corner and made a bee line for the corner ice cream stand. The small shop was fairly crowded, but the line seemed to be moving quickly enough, and she still had enough time to make it to the department store where she would be picking up her dress. She stood in line and looked around aimlessly. A tuft of black hair caught her peripheral vision and brought a sense of sudden familiarity, but the owner turned the corner and she shrugged, putting it out of her mind. She grabbed her small pistachio cone and then made her way around the corner and toward the department store.

She finished it quickly and, surprisingly enough, didn't even drip any on herself anywhere! It really was turning out to be a magnificent day! She entered the department store and made her way to the escalator. She admired the décor as she rode up. The large metal ornaments hanging from the ceiling always had fascinated her. Their twisting forms reminded her of the waves in the ocean that she enjoyed so much. And soon she would enjoy that soothing shape every time she looked out her huge rear deck window with her soon-to-be new husband.

She reached the top of the escalator and admired a display of shoes on her left, and some springtime dresses on her right that caught her eye on the way to the bridal department. She made a note to come back to try them on after she'd gotten the dress.

The fitting went splendidly. The dress hugged her curves perfectly and flowed down past her feet just like a rising tide. It was a light blue (as the wedding's entire theme was to revolve around) and ended just above her chest at its top. She snapped a picture of herself in the mirror and texted it to her sisters, Dawn, and May with an emoji sticking its tongue out (of course with the explicit instructions that they were not to share the picture with the groom. Misty was nothing if she wasn't slightly superstitious after all). The texts she received in return, a mixture of admiration at her beauty and jealousy of her luck in love, all made her giggle profusely as she took the dress off and had it bagged up.

She paid for the dress and then decided to make her way to the tuxedo department just to grab another glance at the set they'd chosen for the groom and his groomsmen. It was a classic black tux with a light blue shirt and bowtie. It was certainly simple enough, and she was more than satisfied when she held up the picture she'd taken of herself and contrasted it with the tuxedo. Smiling broadly and nodding in approval, she turned quickly as she placed her phone back in her purse, and then promptly ran her face smack dab into a firm chest and fell flat on her backside, dropping her dress and all of her bags.

"Oh my gosh, miss, I'm so sorry!" A man's voice apologized profusely as he helped her up and grabbed her bags, not looking at her.

She accepted the stranger's arm as he helped her and she dusted herself off and straightened out her dress and said, "Oh it's not your fault. There's no need to apologize. It was my fault. I wasn't loo-"

Their eyes finally met, and she dropped her bags all over again. "A-Ash!?"

"Misty?"

They just stood there for a moment, mouths agape, neither breathing, as they took in the sight of one another. She saw a tall, muscular, dark haired man with a sharp jaw and dark stubble all over it. His hair was spiky and wild as she remembered it, but a little longer. He wore a black form fitting t-shirt that showed off his well-defined chest, abs, and arms…and what the hell was she doing focusing on any of that? But the thing she recognized the most was his height. Her head only made it to his chest now. His CHEST!? Had she shrunk? No, she'd grown too. He was just that tall….

He saw a stunning, curvy, very…erhem…well-proportioned woman in a yellow flowery sun dress that hugged her in just the right way in all the right places. She was taller than the last time he'd seen her, but she was still so petite compared to him. Her hair was…oh man it was still in her patented side ponytail, but it was so much longer…and more lustrous…and he wondered what it would feel like between his fingers…and WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING!? But the most stunning thing he noticed, just like he had the last time he'd seen her, was her blue-green eyes. He'd still never seen eyes like that that had captivated him like those orbs had…and did.

Misty shook her head and reached her hand out to diffuse the awkward moment. "Well as I live and breathe, Ash Ketchum! How have you been!?"

Ash shook his head slightly and reached out and shook her outstretched hand amicably, "Misty, it's so good to see you! How long has it been?"

"Well I think about eight years, right? How have you been? I saw you finally win the Pokemon League those years ago!" She smiled brightly at him as he gathered her bags again and handed them to her.

"Yeah," he replied and scratched the back of his head nervously, "I got your voice message congratulating me. Ah…sorry I never got back to you. I really meant to, but then I lost my phone and your number changed and…"

She waved her hand and shook her head, "Ash for goodness sake, I'm not worried about an unreturned call six years ago. I'm really happy for you! You truly are Mr. Pokemon Master now I guess. And you've done a lot of good as the champion. I know my job as gym leader has been much smoother the last few years."

"I'm really glad to hear that, Mist," he said, and thought he noticed her eye twitch a little when he said her nickname, "I worked really hard on some of those reforms. I'm glad to know they're helping. And I also know the Cerulean Gym is one of our most prestigious in the entire league. I know we have you to thank for that."

She blushed lightly, "Well to tell you the truth, Daisy and Tracey have helped a lot in that repect too."

"Oh please, Mist," he laughed, "don't sell yourself short. I've read the reports. I know what stimulated the turnaround at your gym."

That brought them to a slight comfortable silence for a moment until Ash saw what she had in her hands.

"So, ah…you're in the bridal department…with a wedding dress huh?"

"Oh yeah," she said, "I'm actually just picking up my wedding dress right now."

At that, she could have sworn she saw Ash's eye twitch slightly.

"Oh, you're getting married? Well, who's the lucky guy?" he asked cordially.

"You remember Rudy Trovita, right?" She could have sworn she saw another eye-twitch, but knew she must have been imagining it. He smiled and nodded and she continued, "Yeah, him. He asked me about ten months ago. I finally said yes about eight months ago." She laughed.

She suddenly realized that he too had a large bag from the tuxedo department, "It looks like you're getting ready for a wedding too," she pointed out.

He seemed like he had forgotten that fact up until that point, "Oh yeah. Heh…it's my wedding." Did her eye twitch again?

"Yeah, I heard you'd gotten engaged several months back," she said. Did her voice suddenly lower?

"Yeah, about eight months ago actually. It's coming up in a few days as a matter of fact," he said.

"And her name is Serena?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, I suppose you probably heard that from Tracey, eh?"

She nodded slowly.

"Hey," he said excitedly, almost startling her, "Why don't you and I go out and grab a drink and bite to eat really quickly? I'd love to catch up more with my best friend!"

Why did she shudder when he called her that? "That sounds like fun. I've got the whole day free, so I can spare a couple of hours I suppose!"

"Great!" Ash said excitedly, "I know this great little bar and grill just down the road from my hotel!"

"Alright, Ash," she said smiling, "let me drop this stuff in my car and then you can lead the way!"

* * *

Misty's head hurt. Like a lot. That was the first thing she could think of when she slowly woke up the next morning. She grabbed it and massaged her temples slowly, trying to relieve some of the pain. The next thing she realized was that she was naked. Why was she naked? She never slept without at least a nightgown on. This was certainly new. The next thing she realized, with a considerable amount of shock, was that she was not the only one in her bed…and she was also not the only one NAKED in her bed. That was DEFINITELY new.

Her eyes shot open and introduced more pain into her head as the streaks of sunlight from the not-all-the-way-closed blinds entered her irises. She was staring at a strange window in a very large, but equally strange room. The other naked body she sensed was behind her, and she suddenly noticed that an arm extending from that naked body was wrapped around her waist.

 _Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit,_ was the next thing that went through her mind as she began to slowly try to lift the muscular arm off of herself. The body spooning her began to stir and something poked into one of her butt cheeks.

"EEK!" she shrieked as she realized what it was and jumped out of the bed desperately scanning the room for her clothing.

"Wait, wuh!?" the other person sat up suddenly, and she groaned when she saw who it was.

"M-Misty?"

"Uh…g-good morning, Ash"


	2. Chapter 2

So Misty was standing there, in his hotel room, in the morning, as naked as the day she was born (oh wait, she just found her panties….did he remember taking those off? Yeah…). Ash shook his head and attempted to remember how they got into the situation they suddenly found themselves in. Let's see, they went to dinner, had a few drinks, laughed, reminisced, had a few more drinks, took a walk, came back to the hotel, had a bunch more drinks, declared their repressed never-ending love for one another, had really really hot se…..

"No, no, no, no, this cannot have happened," Misty said as she looked under a chair and, regrettably (for Ash), found her bra. She continued mumbling, Ash only picking up some of it as he continued his introspection, "I got over….I was over….I was finally….."

"Uh, Misty," Ash said, deciding that they should probably clear the air (and he thought that figuratively and literally, given the need for some actual air freshener in that room after what he was remembering…and smelling).

"I was over…"

"Misty?"

"…finally over…"

"MIST!?"

"I WAS FINALLY OVER YOU!"

She stood there breathing heavily and glaring at him accusingly and pointing a finger in his face. He wasn't entirely sure what she meant, but he thought he was beginning to understand something that he should have realized before.

"I just thought we should talk about this," he said softly, still ogling her amazing body that she just then had finally (again regrettably…for Ash) covered with the dress she had been wearing the day before. Well until they got to his room.

She grit her teeth and continued her frantic pacing as she attempted to locate the rest of her various articles of clothing. "There is nothing to talk about here, Ash. We got drunk and made a mistake. This is nothing but a big oops!"

Ash couldn't help but feel like a big rock had dropped onto his heart and shoved it right into his stomach. He finally tore his eyes off of her and looked down at the hotel bed's quilt. Then he threw it off of himself, a bit disgusted, as he saw what was on it. He stood next to the bed and realized Misty's footsteps had stopped. He looked over and caught her staring at him, mouth slightly agape, with a shoe in her left hand.

Her eyebrows furrowed once she realized he'd caught her, and she growled at him, "Would you put something on, please?"

He looked down and realized he was letting a lot more hang out than he'd initially realized, and quickly pulled on his boxers.

Misty seemed to have found enough of her clothing to satisfy herself, and she made a beeline for the exit to Ash's large hotel room. She pulled the door open, only to have it close again as Ash stepped up next to her.

"Get out of my way, Ash," she grumbled.

"Wait, Mist," he said, "I…don't feel right about you just going like this!"

"Ash, we are ENGAGED! To other PEOPLE! And we just…." She gesticulated in a suggestive manner and gestured toward the bed.

"I know, but…"

"But what, Ash!? This was a huge mistake!"

He stood quietly, studying her face closely. He wanted to be absolutely sure about what he was feeling. What he'd felt since he saw her again in that department store.

"Was it?" he finally asked.

She began to answer, but found her voice choked in the back of her throat. Recomposing herself, she firmly said, "Yes, Ash. I did not want to cheat on my fiancé last night."

"Do you remember anything from last night!?" he pressed intently. "Because I remember."

"I…remember some," she admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me those things that you said years ago!?"

"It-it doesn't matter anymore, Ash. I am marrying someone else in a couple of days. I have to go."

He sighed, "But what if it matters to me?"

She turned her back to him, "It shouldn't. Go marry Serena."

She opened the door and stepped into the hallway and began her way to the hotel elevator. He stepped out after her and called down the hall to her, "Will I…see you again?"

She stopped suddenly and stood in the middle of the hallway, Ash looking after her (a few people who passed huffed at his state of undress, but he didn't care at that moment). She finally said, "No, Ash, I don't think you will," and continued her way toward the elevator.

He watched her gloomily as she stepped onto the elevator. She turned around and he caught her eye once more before the elevator took her from him. He swore she was crying.

* * *

Ash had never been a big drinker. The most he'd had before the incident the night before had been on the night he'd become the Pokemon League Champion, and Brock had made him promise to never drink anything harder than a dark lager ever again. So he was as shocked as anyone to find himself at the hotel bar that early in the afternoon with a very strong drink sitting in the glass in front of him.

He sighed deeply as he choked down another sip and placed his chin back in his hand. Not only had he discovered jubilant feelings he'd never know existed before, he also was made aware of feelings that came when you had the thing that gave you those feelings ripped away from you.

His thoughts finally drifted to his fiancé, and a deep feeling of guilt flooded through his gut (and then he ordered another glass of scotch). Serena was a great girl. She was sweet, bubbly, innocent, and he'd honestly had a great time with her the past couple of years. He had nothing but admiration for her, and she'd been the first girl to give him a real kiss. But he'd never felt for her what he'd just experienced. It wasn't Serena's fault either. And he knew that, and it made him feel terrible.

He stood finally and wobbled slightly, realizing he was just a bit beyond buzzed and it wasn't even two in the afternoon. But he didn't really care at that point as he had decided he was going to sleep the rest of the day anyway. Or so he thought.

"Ashyyy!" came a voice that made him cringe from across the hotel lobby as he made his way toward the elevators.

He turned and saw the beaming honey-blonde almost skipping toward him from across the lobby. As always she looked great. Her style was always state-of-the-art, and she never wore the same thing twice the same way. Her hair was long and flowed out of her hat and gracefully down her shoulders. She was beautiful of course, but the guilt in Ash's gut suddenly had him wanting to barf (and the alcohol too probably).

She reached her lips up to his face and smooched him on his cheek and reeled back in surprise. "Ash, have you been drinking!?"

"I uh….yeah?"

"You reek of alcohol. How much did you have!? And at two in the afternoon!?"

He didn't really have an explanation, and he really hadn't been prepared to see her. "I um…"

"Did you forget our dinner date with our mothers and Clemont and Bonnie!?"

Shit.

"I guess so. I kind of…met a good buddy of mine and they just left," he said…sort of truthfully he guessed.

"Oh!? Did you invite them to the wedding?" she chirped, seemingly forgetting the whole alcohol thing.

"Uh, no. I don't think I'll see them again for a really long time."

"Well go get freshened up, silly," she said, her bubbly disposition making the guilt kill him that much more intense, "we're going to be late. And for goodness sake, brush your teeth!"

* * *

They walked down the busy street toward the simple little restaurant. Ash watched his fiancé through guilty eyes as she happily and gracefully made her way down the sidewalk in front of him. She would stop occasionally and excitedly point something out to him in the quaint storefront windows as they passed. Normally he would have found the spectacle endearing, but he simply nodded quietly as his mind continued to destroy his day. He knew he would have to tell her. And then what? His feelings were all over the place, and they always kept going back to the fiery redhead he'd just realized he probably was in love with.

But wasn't he supposed to be in love with Serena? Had he ever been in love with her? It wasn't the fact that he and Serena had never had sex (or, now that he thought of it, that he'd never actually had sex with anyone until…). Ash wasn't that shallow. He knew those blissful moments with Misty had come as a result of what he had felt for her, and not the other way around. They were feelings that had been rekindled after years of not seeing the girl. He'd never felt those things for anyone else. Not even Serena.

So why had he decided to marry Serena!? Well why wouldn't he!? She was a wonderful girl. She was a girl any guy would be lucky to be with. And he genuinely liked her. He enjoyed her company, and she had been completely head over heels for him, which was flattering. She had been crazy for him far before he had become the Champion. And the girls who'd shown interest in him after he'd become the Champion had made him appreciate the kind of person Serena was.

But he'd learned the night before that Misty had loved him for years, and that he had been so stupid to have missed it for so long. And since he was older and more in tune with his own feelings, he'd realized he'd probably loved her all those years ago as well. He certainly loved her now.

And it was that realization that made him realize he couldn't go through with the wedding. He wasn't in love with Serena, and he'd betrayed her trust in the most awful way possible. He was going to have to tell her, and he hated that thought even more than he hated the feeling of guilt that was eating his insides. He didn't want to hurt her, but he knew that he was going to.

"Serena…I have to tell you something…" he began, but then suddenly realized they'd reached the restaurant. She hadn't heard him and had already stepped inside the door.

She peeked her head back out and grinned at him, "What are you doing, silly? Come on!"

He supposed it could wait till after lunch…with his mother, and her mother, and their really close friends. Ugh.

Stepping into the restaurant they quickly spotted their mothers and friends and pointed them out to the hostess. They made their way over to them and noticed all of their backs were turned to them and they all had their eyes glued to the television on the wall near the small bar the restaurant had.

"Hey everyone, something good on?" Serena asked as she took her seat. Ash sat next to her, his thoughts still imprisoned by the gnawing guilt and the conversation he would soon have to have with Serena.

Upon hearing her voice, the four people spun around startled and wide eyed at the young couple, looks of utter shock and disdain on all their faces. Except for Clemont who had a look of unbridled fury that even Ash, in his stupor, noticed.

"Wh-what's wrong everyone?" Serena gasped upon seeing the unexpected reaction from the group.

Clemont stood and removed his glasses, placing them on the table next to his glass of water. He walked around the table, grabbed Ash by his collar, and punched him as hard as he could in the face. Ash's head rocked backward, followed by the rest of his body and the chair as he fell over and landed on the hard floor as patrons all over the restaurant suddenly screamed and gasped. Clemont then straddled Ash and smashed his fist into his face once more before being yanked off by a couple of men who had been eating a few tables down. Ash could hear Serena, her mother, his mother, and Bonnie all screaming at Clemont as he groggily sat up and held his head. He noticed the flowing stream of blood exiting his nose as he used the table as support as he stood up.

"You son of a-you piece of utter SHIT!" Clemont yelled at him, changing his insult as he remembered, even in his fury, present company. He continued struggling to get free of the men who were restraining him.

"Stop, Clemont! What on earth has gotten into you!?" Serena screamed at him as he huffed heavily and smoothed back his disheveled hair.

"Have you not seen the news today, Serena!?" he yelled, a tinge of sadness clearly crept into his voice through the fury. "You haven't seen a newspaper or read the internet!?"

"No, I was busy with wedding preparations and then went to find Ash at the hotel!"

"Well just watch that if you want to know what he's been doing at that hotel!"

Ash (through a quickly swelling eye) and Serena both turned to the television to see pictures of Ash and Misty flash up on the screen. Some of them were simply the two smiling or laughing. But then some pictures from later in the evening showed up where they had been gazing across their table at each other, slightly drunk and holding hands. And then came the money shots. The two of them kissing across the table. Then in the lobby. Then in the hallway outside his room. Then entering his room. The news headline title read: Pokemon Champion and Cerulean Gym Leader Get Steamy in Saffron City. The smaller sub headline below read: Both Reported to be Engaged…TO OTHER PEOPLE!

Ash had never even noticed the paparazzi that night, most likely because he'd gotten drunk and was enjoying himself so much. He hadn't thought to look because it was just supposed to be an innocent dinner between old friends. But they were there, and they saw almost everything apparently until they disappeared behind his hotel door.

He cringed and turned to look at Serena, and what he saw just destroyed him. The look of utter heartbreak on her pretty face, her hand raised to her mouth as tears flowed down her cheeks. There were so many things he wanted to say and do to take all of the pain and hurt away, because even though he may not have loved her like he did Misty, he still cared deeply for the girl.

He reached out to her slowly to touch her shoulder, "Serena, I was going to tell you…" but she quickly jerked herself away and buried her face in her hands as her mother wrapped her up in her arms and glared furiously at Ash over her daughter's shoulder.

He suddenly felt himself being pushed, hard, and looked down to see his own mother guiding him roughly to the door of the restaurant. Upon exiting he tried to talk to her, "Mom look I…" but his face was suddenly met with the open palm of his mother's hand as she slapped him really hard.

"Go back to your hotel, Ash," she said, a deep guttural fury seeping into every syllable. He had never heard her that angry before in his life, and certainly not at him.

"But…" he started lamely.

"GO ASH! Clemont clearly wants to kill you, and I frankly don't blame him at the moment. Go NOW. I will talk to you about this later."

She turned around and rushed back inside, leaving him to simply stand there, holding his damaged face as his eye began to swell shut.

 _Well,_ he thought as he turned and slowly began walking toward his hotel, taking just a moment to wipe his bloody nose on his sleeve, _I guess I deserved that._


	3. Chapter 3

In the span of a few hours, Misty's life had gone from a fairy tale to a tragedy. Well okay maybe she was being a little dramatic, but things had certainly taken a turn, seemingly for the worse. She was getting married in just a few days in a wedding she had only dreamed about as a child. And then after the wedding she was poised to live a story-book life in a beautiful seaside house with a wonderful man who thought the world of her. It was almost exactly how she'd dreamed it since she'd been a young girl. The exception was the identity of the man these things would be happening with, but she was over that. 'WAS' being the key word.

Then by some cruel twist of happenstance, she'd lived her dream. A dream she'd had since she was a young girl. A dream she'd held onto until eight months prior that she had finally given up on. She had sex with Ash Ketchum. Not only that, but they'd basically both admitted, albeit in a drunken stupor, that they'd been…they were in love with each other.

Okay, sure her dream had morphed slightly as she became a teenager and then matured. She didn't dream of the more adult things until her mid to late teens. She'd never dreamed of anything so physical while she'd traveled with Ash till around her 13th birthday. But the dream of some sort of a romantic relationship with him had started nearly from the day they met.

She wasn't sure when exactly she figured out that she was in love with him. She did remember feeling something from the moment he'd caught that dumb caterpie. But by the time they had to part all those years ago, she was hopeless. And the feeling didn't stop when they had parted. Ash continued on his quest and she figured he'd forgotten all about her. But she never forgot him. She couldn't. So she did the only thing she could. She lived her life hoping that someday they would reunite. She hoped that deep down, when they had been together, something had stirred in him too, and that one day they would get another chance to explore more than just a close friendship. That hope had led her to shun all attempts at romance from any other potential suitor. Yeah, she'd been on a few dates, but her constant remembrance of Ash Ketchum ruined any chance any of those relationships had. Her romantic focus on the one man she seemingly could ever love had ruined it for any other guy.

But then Rudy, who she also hadn't seen in many years, had just happened to visit her at the Cerulean gym about a year and a half ago. This after word got to her that Ash had been seeing some girl he'd met in Kalos. She still held on to hope, but she had decided to give Rudy a longer shot than any other guy she had up to that point. And what could one say about Rudy? He was a great guy! A gentleman in all senses of the term. He showed her respect, and showed that he was completely committed to her happiness. He showered her with gifts and compliments. He revealed how he never stopped thinking of her. And he never tried to push the relationship beyond where she wanted to go.

And then he proposed. And she didn't say yes immediately. Because Ash Ketchum was still a person who existed and there was still hope. Right? That was until she had heard the news eight months ago that Ash had gotten engaged. Her world became very weird upon hearing that news. Slowly but surely something died within her. It took a couple of weeks, but she then went to Rudy and accepted his proposal.

Did she love Rudy? No, at least not in the way she had loved Ash for so many years. But she figured since Ash was going to find some semblance of happiness in a relationship, she should darn well try to herself. Could she learn to love someone else? She didn't know, and frankly didn't care. Her dream was dead, and she needed something to help her feel alive.

And in the months since, she had genuinely become happy. She had actually gotten over Ash Ketchum (or so she told herself). Preparing for the wedding was just the distraction she needed, and Rudy was an absolute dream through the entire process. And he still never pushed her to do things in their relationship she wasn't comfortable with.

Plainly stated, Misty had assumed that her first time would be with Rudy in their dream house by the shore. But it wasn't. It was with Ash Ketchum…just like she'd always dreamed. Well okay she hadn't dreamed the whole drunk stupor thing, but give her a break, okay?

And as she stood in the descending elevator, trying her best to smooth her dress and hair so she would at least be halfway presentable to the world as she made her way back to her own hotel, she wondered just what the hell she was supposed to feel now!

She checked her appearance in the reflective surface of the hotel elevator, hoping she'd been able to wipe enough of the smeared mascara off her cheeks and that her side ponytail wasn't too frazzled from being pulled on by Ash while he rode her like…

And she attempted to put that out of her mind as she exited the elevator and quickly made her way to the busy Saffron City streets. _What are the odds we'd both choose Saffron as a wedding destination? What the hell!?_

She couldn't believe how late she'd slept in. It was already around 11:45, and she had promised to meet Rudy's sister for lunch that day. _Ugh_. Just thinking of her sweet future sister-in-law made the guilt already eating at her gut grow even stronger. She loved that girl, she really did. She was one of the reasons Misty had decided to accept Rudy's proposal. But now, everything just felt wrong, like she'd betrayed two people. How on earth was she going to deal with this!? Misty had decided she'd approach it like she had her romantic feelings for a good decade; she'd hide it.

The Saffron streets were busy as she made her way toward her hotel. Luckily for her, it was only around a half mile away from where Ash was staying, so walking there wasn't going to be a big deal. She'd have to get a ride back to the shopping district's parking area to collect her car (and her wedding dress) later. She began to notice people on the street take second glances at her. _Shit,_ she thought, _my hair must be worse than I thought._

She pulled out her cell phone to call Mahri and tell her she'd be late, but as luck had it (which had all been bad for the last 24 hours or so) it was completely dead. So she picked up her pace as her hotel came into view, and as the populous of Saffron City seemed to continue to take a disturbing interest in her disheveled appearance.

She quickly made her way through the automatic doors of the large hotel and rushed through the lobby and toward the elevators while attempting to avoid the now annoying glares from the people therein. Even the receptionist was giving her the stink eye. _What the hell!? Hasn't anyone here had a bad hair day before!?_

The elevator door slid closed behind her and she released a relieved sigh when she ended up being the only one on it. The ride seemed to take forever, and she burst out of the elevator and nearly spinted down the hall to her room, swiping the key, and slamming the door shut behind her as she slid to the ground, back against the door, and decided to just chill for a few moments.

* * *

A shower and some brief preening and makeup application did wonders for the youngest Waterflower and she rushed to gather her partly charged phone and purse and bolted out the door. She still had time to make her 1 o'clock lunch with Mahri if she hurried. She yanked her phone out and shot a quick text to the younger girl, a tad surprised when she finally noticed she'd missed 14 prior texts and 9 calls from various people. She guessed that's what happens when you have a dead phone for half a day.

Resolved to catch up to her messages later, she shoved her phone back in her purse and made her way down the street to the small coffee shop they had decided to meet at. She slipped inside and looked around for the younger girl. Not seeing her, she decided to go ahead and grab a coffee to enjoy while she waited, desperately needing the kick the caffeine would give her after recent events.

She wasn't a fan of how the young barista gave her the once over while she ordered, nor of some of the looks the patrons of the small coffee shop were giving her. She knew it wasn't her hair this time after the time she spent on it before leaving her room. Shrugging, she grabbed a magazine and began to read it as she enjoyed her coffee.

Fifteen minutes passed and she took the last sip of her drink and looked around. Mahri still hadn't shown up and new patrons entering the shop were still giving her strange looks. Something must have happened to make Mahri that late, so Misty stood and left the coffee shop while reaching for her phone. She dialed Mahri's number and and waited as the line began to ring. She suddenly heard an audible ringtone from behind her. She spun around and there was Mahri, looking much different than she normally did. Had she been crying?

"M-Mahri," Misty stammered, "I was waiting…"

"Do you ever check your messages!?" the young girl yelled, attracting several passerby's attention.

"Uh, I haven't had a chance today," Misty said, shocked at the typically sweet young girl's sudden anger, "I was in a rush to meet you!"

"Were you in a rush because you were so busy cheating on my brother!?" she screamed as Misty's jaw AND stomach both dropped.

"I-I…how…?"

Mahri practically threw a newspaper at Misty, scattering several sections at their feet. But it was the front page that grabbed Misty's attention, and she felt like her life was basically over as the pictures of she and Ash entering his hotel room in a sultry embrace caught her eye.

"You home wrecking bitch!" Mahri yelled at her, venting all her anger as the crowd of people continued to grow, and they weren't taking Misty's side. "Who would have thought you'd turn out to be the biggest slut in Kanto!? We loved you! My brother loved you!"

Loved? As in past tense?

"Mahri…I…it was a mis…" she was cut off as a white hot pain radiated through her left cheek as Mahri slapped her. The young teenage girl then promptly turned around and stormed off, pushing through the crowd of people that had appeared.

Misty just stood there, her hand on her face, not really processing everything that was going on around her. She may have heard some of the people in the crowd mumble words of pity Some seemed to mumble words of condemnation, saying she got what she deserved. But the world was dull and blurry to her at that moment. Everything was falling apart, starting with a relationship with a young girl that she treasured.

Rudy! She had to talk to Rudy before….Misty finally snapped out of her stupor and hurriedly pulled her phone out, taking a second to glare at the bystanders angrily, which seemed to be enough to get them moving along.

She quickly scrolled through her messages and was horrified at what she saw. First her sisters had texted her demanding an explanation for the pictures in the paper. They were followed by messages filled with hurt and anger from Mahri. And finally, Rudy had sent a few messages. She couldn't read any emotion in them. They just seemed flat. But the last one flatly stated he was going to Ash's hotel to find her.

Oh no! She had to get back to that hotel to stop Rudy from doing something he'd regret…and to save Ash's dumb ass.

* * *

 **Note: Sorry these chapters are kind of short, but that's kind of the nature of this story. I'm intending it to be kind of a quick-hitting thing. Are you all liking it? I'm not entirely sure where I'm going to go with everything, but I do have a general idea in mind. Anyone you'd like to see show up to shame our poor protagonists, haha? I had a bit of writers block with the end of this chapter, but I think I'm generally okay with where it went.**

 **Let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**The evening before:**

Ash had always been a little dense about girls. He would be the first to admit it. The way they acted sometimes would baffle him. That didn't mean he hadn't gotten older and wiser over the years. He finally mostly understood what romance was and was often able to pick up on when girls were hitting on him, which had happened a lot more since he'd become Pokemon League Champion. But he suddenly had no idea what to make of how Misty Waterflower, an engaged woman, was acting around him. She was his best friend, at least at one time, and he was having a lot of fun reconnecting with her. They'd had a few drinks and had both seemed to open up to each other more as they walked down the busy Saffron City street that evening after dinner. None of that was strange. It was when she suddenly leaned her head against his shoulder briefly that it started being strange. The act hadn't been for long, because they suddenly passed in front of a classy bar that Misty said she'd go to with her friends occasionally and she dragged him inside.

They got to the front of the bar and sat down and both ordered some more drinks and continued their talking and joking with each other. It really reminded him of old times, except old times didn't include the copious amounts of alcohol they'd consumed. As the minutes turned to at least an hour at the bar and Ash's vision began to wobble, their physical contact also increased. And he could swear she was leaning closer and closer to him with every fruity margarita she sipped. And what were these feelings that he was having trouble understanding?

Then they started talking about their relationships:

"...and then Brock tripped and knocked both Serena and me over and she landed on top of me and told me she loved me," Ash finished his story and shrugged.

"Oh Brock, that big silly." Misty slurred, and then sighed.

Even with all of the alcohol, he could detect some sadness in his friend's voice. "Hey Mist, whasamatta?" he probed while absentmindedly poking her arm.

"Oh it's just…I admire this Serena girl," she replied.

"Well, she's pretty smart. I mean she did land a stud like me," Ash laughed.

Misty placed her chin in her hand and smiled at him, staring with glassy eyes, "Yeah, but I admire her because she was able to do what I was never able to." With each syllable, she poked his chest with her index fingers.

"Oh yeah? What would that be?" Ash inquired smiling, not noticing that both he and Misty had leaned even closer together.

But he did notice that Misty's gaze had become serious. He noticed the light freckles on her cheeks, the way her eyebrows began to scrunch. The shine on her lips from her light pink lip gloss. Her perfectly white teeth. Her cute little nose. And her sultry voice as she answered, "She was brave enough to say what I never seemed to be able to…that…I love you…"

The next thing Ash knew, she'd closed the small amount of distance that had remained between them and had placed her lips on his. It was brief, and she pulled away rather quickly. But as she began to say something that never quite made it out, he leaned back into her and placed his lips on hers. He could taste the fruity lip gloss as their second kiss lingered longer. The background noise of the club disappeared as the loud beating of his own heart became the only noise he heard. Reason seemingly leaving, Ash then felt himself lightly grab the back of Misty's neck as he deepened the kiss, to which she happily reciprocated. Their mouths naturally moved against one another until, just as naturally, their tongues found their way past each other's lips.

* * *

 **Now:**

Ash kicked a rock as he shuffled down the road, his hands in his jacket pockets and his head down. He hoped the brim of his hat was enough to hide his face from the people he passed. All he wanted to do at that moment was make it to his hotel room. From there he planned on packing up his stuff and hitching a ride back to Pallet Town on Charizard. There was no longer any reason to stay in Saffron. His large deposits to the wedding venue and the tuxedo rental department would be lost, but he wasn't really hurting for money as the League Champion, so he considered them as a worthy loss given the circumstances. He just wanted to get home and think.

He looked up as he approached the hotel and breathed in a sigh of relief. _Home free,_ he thought.

"YOU!" A loud booming voice sounded behind him.

 _Or not._

Ash turned to see a man a little taller and older than him approaching. A vague sense of familiarity washed over Ash as the burgundy haired man stomped toward him. The man was thin, but not wiry. Ash could tell he was athletic, and he was well dressed: a white vest covered a black button down shirt that covered clearly muscular arms.

And then one of those arms was traveling very quickly through the air as the fist attached to the end of it suddenly landed against Ash's already swollen face. For the second time in the last hour, Ash found himself on his back with a man straddling him and pounding his face with his fists. _I wish people would stop hitting me in the face._

"RUDY, STOP!" he suddenly heard as the man was pulled off of him.

Ash groggily sat up and saw a flash of red hair as a woman struggled to pull the man off of him, but suddenly, and Ash wasn't clear on what exactly happened, the woman was on her butt on the ground, and the woman was Misty.

Reason and logic left him and all that was left was a burning rage as, almost without realizing it, Ash had released a champion Charizard that was now screaming in the face of the man who had attacked him and knocked over Misty.

"Goddammit Ash, NO!" Misty yelled as she pushed Ash back and toward the door, grabbing the pokeball from his hand and recalling the large orange fire pokemon. "Do you want to go to jail for attacking someone with a pokemon!?"

"He fucking knocked you over!" Ash yelled.

"I fell, he didn't do anything," she yelled back. "Rudy wouldn't do something like that!"

"You don't get to fucking complain about anything, Ketchum!" Rudy screamed as he recovered from almost being Charizard chow and had approached Ash again with Misty being the only thing separating the two large men. "You took advantage of my fiancé!"

Misty now turned her attention to Rudy, "Rudy, please! Can we go talk about this somewhere else? Alone?"

"I think right here and right now is just fine," Rudy bellowed. "In fact, out of all the time we've known each other, the only constant thorn in our side, whether he's been present or not, has been this sonuva bitch! And now he comes and seduces you right before we're to be married!?"

Misty looked down, "Rudy, that's not how it happened. He's not the one who initiated it."

Rudy looked down at the petite woman as if she was the strangest thing he'd ever seen. The three of them were silent for some time before Rudy finally said, "You're still in love with him, aren't you!? I thought you'd gotten past that!"

"I-I-I thought I had too," she admitted softly.

Rudy's demeanor changed from one of seething rage to sadness. He backed up slowly, shaking his head. "I honestly can't believe I did this to myself," he mumbled. "I should have known, I suppose." He slowly turned and began to walk away.

Misty began to run after him, "Rudy, wait! It was a mistake! Can we please talk!?"

He turned to her and they stood and stared at each other for several moments before Rudy turned and continued walking away. "Goodbye, Misty."

They watched as he walked away for several quiet moments. The crowd that had gathered eventually began to dissipate as they figured out nothing else of any intrigue was going to happen, and all that was left was a deflated Ash and Misty. Ash watched as Misty looked down at her hand and then removed the ring that was on it and placed it in her pocket. She turned around and he could see the tears running down her cheeks.

"Mist…I…" he took a step toward her and reached out, but she stepped back and deflected his hand.

"I…I have to go," she said softly.

Should he have gone after her? He wondered then and in times of weakness what would have happened if he had, but he was too defeated at that moment. That week had not gone as planned, to say the least. Not to mention the fact that his face hurt. So he made his way into the hotel and bought some Tylenol at the gift shop before heading to the elevator and riding it to his floor. He didn't waste any time as he gathered his things quickly and shoved them all into his duffel bag. He gave the room one last look to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything he needed. He left the tuxedo he had rented on the bed. The department store would charge his account for it, which was just fine. One of the hotel maids could have the thing for all he cared. He quickly made his way back to the lobby to the reception desk.

"Oh, you're checking out early, Mr. Ketchum?" asked the receptionist.

He nodded and handed her the key card to the room and then made his way out of the hotel. Risking a ticket for flying on a pokemon in city limits, he released Charizard again and climbed on its back.

"Let's go to Pallet Town, buddy. We've got to get Pikachu."

Charizard grunted and took off. Ash looked down at the bustling metropolis where he was going to be married and sighed. _What a weird turn of events._

* * *

The flight to Pallet Town took a couple of hours. The sun was beginning to crawl toward the horizon as Charizard landed in front of a familiar building with an old windmill beside it. Ash looked around and took in the peaceful, picturesque scene. Pallet, always beautiful with its flower lined paths, just didn't seem the same as it had the last time he'd been there.

He walked to the door of the lab and rapped on it a few times. After a few moments it opened to reveal one of Ash's oldest friends.

"Ash!?" Tracey said, not bothering at all to hide his shock.

"Hey Tracey, just here to pick up Pikachu."

"Oh, uh," Tracey peeked out the door and looked down the street before tugging him inside, "alright. I'll go get him for you."

Tracey hurriedly rushed off as if something was bothering him. Ash thought he was acting a little weird, but given the last two days had been about as weird as they could have been, he didn't pay it much attention. What did grab his attention was the voice that called for him from across the room.

"Ashy-boy! Look at the big controversial celebrity paying little old us another visit!"

"Gary," Ash nodded to him while he leaned against the wall.

"So I must say," Gary began, a wide sarcastic grin plastered on his face, "I honestly did not think you had it in you. Hell, I was beginning to wonder if Ashy-boy Ketchum had a libido at all. But he leaves for the big city for a week and then his face shows up all over the news for a nice big sex scandal! Nice shiner by the way!"

Ash groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had been lucky his eye hadn't swollen all the way shut. "Yeah I got this from a couple of interested parties."

"So, you and Red, huh? You know we all kind of figured that would happen years ago. Way to go and prove us all right in the most roundabout way possible, Cassenova!"

"Gary, can we talk about something else? This is kind of hard on a lot of people…"

Lucky for Ash, Tracey returned with Ash's small yellow starter Pokemon. It let out a happy squeal and jumped to its trainer's shoulder. Ash rubbed his ear and smiled.

"So, uh, what happens now, Ash?" Tracey asked hesitantly.

"I think I'm going to get away for a while," Ash answered. "Champions are allowed a 6 month hiatus every five years, and I haven't taken mine. I figured with all of this stuff, of which you two are clearly aware of, I should get out and clear my head and make space for people."

"Where will you go?"

Ash thought for a moment, "I don't know. I was just going to go anywhere else. Somewhere not here in Kanto."

"You know, Ash," Gary said, "in all seriousness, you still have friends and family here. Maybe less than before you royally fucked up, but we're still here for you."

Ash smiled and patted his friend on the shoulder, "Damn Gary, that's sweet. You're not hitting on me now, are you?"

Gary swatted his hand away and laughed, "You try to be nice to a guy. I'll tell your mom you said goodbye."

"Tracey," Ash looked to his old friend, "would you tell Mist…I meant what I said?"

Tracey looked quizzically at the champion, "What was that?"

"She'll know."

The research assistant nodded. They all shook hands and said goodbye to Ash and he began to make his way to the door, when it suddenly flung open and a pretty blonde who bore a striking resemblance to a certain redhead entered the residence.

"Tracey! Are you ready for dinner?" She asked, head down looking at her phone as she walked in. She finally looked up and saw the three of them, and when her eyes landed on Ash, they suddenly flashed with hot anger.

"You! Who in the hell do you think you are showing up here!?"

Ash took a few steps back and gave Tracey a pleading look.

"Hun, he's just here to pick up his pokemon. He was just leaving!"

"You're damn right he is!" she yelled as she pushed Ash roughly to the door and then unceremoniously slammed it in his face.

Ash was actually grateful that someone who was angry with him finally didn't hit him in the face as he heard Daisy continue to yell at Tracey from behind the closed door. He shook his head, again cursing the mystery of women, and took one last look around his peaceful hometown. He sighed and thought of what would have been if things had gone differently. He and Serena probably would have settled down in Pallet. Fond memories of years past flooded through his mind as he began to lose himself in a wave of nostalgia. But things hadn't turned out the way he'd imagined at all.

He released Charizard once again and let Pikachu find a perch on the lizard's shoulder as he climbed on its back. The sun had reached the horizon and painted the sky a brilliant orange color as he instructed Charizard to fly.

* * *

 **The evening before:**

They finally parted, heads swimming in alcohol and hormones. Misty's face was flushed red, and he knew his was probably just as red. But as wrong as he knew it was, even in his inebriated state, something about the kiss just felt right. And then Ash realized something.

"Mist…I," he started.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that…"

He cut her off, "No. Mist, I think…I think I've been in love with you too. For a long time."


	5. Chapter 5

The days turned into weeks, and the weeks became months. The summer became fall which changed to winter. The news ran stories for a while on the sudden disappearance of the league champion. The league had no comment other than he had taken his allotted sabbatical. No one knew where he'd gone, not even his mother, and he contacted no one. There was no word except for a stray trainer who said they'd run into someone with a powerful Pikachu on Mt. Silver, but it was never verified as true.

Brock had been a little surprised at the whole ordeal to say the least. He'd always thought there'd been something between his two long-time friends, but when Ash and Misty fell out of touch all those years ago he figured it was done. And then he'd read the paper that day almost six months prior and couldn't believe Ash and Misty were capable of something like that. And then for Ash to just leave without telling any of his friends or his mother where he was going, Brock could only figure Ash was dealing with some heavy guilt and dealing with it in the worst way possible.

But six months tends to make memories pass and people go back to their lives. And Brock's life was one of a busy and popular pokemon doctor in Pewter City. His day was coming to a close as he hit save on his computer and shut it off. Excited to get home and begin his rare date-night with Lucy, he grabbed his briefcase and bolted out the front door. He was moving so quickly that he didn't see the man he bumped into until he was picking himself off the ground.

"Goodness, I'm terribly sorry sir," he said as he pushed himself up off the ground, "I wasn't watching where I was going."

Brock finished brushing himself off and then stuck his hand out to shake the man's hand. He looked and saw a tall muscular man with ragged clothing and a torn hat. Long black hair that was tied back into a ponytail poked out from under the hat and a thick unkempt beard covered his face. A bright smile and familiar eyes gave Brock pause, but the thing that really caught Brock's attention was the Pikachu on the man's shoulder.

"A-Ash!?" Brock stammered.

Ash grabbed his still outstretched hand and then pulled the surprised man into a hug. "Good Lord, Brock, you don't know how good it is to see a familiar face."

Brock was too shocked still to react to the hug, so he stood there awkwardly until Ash let go (and he was pretty happy when he did given the fact that it seemed as if Ash hadn't showered recently).

"Ash, I…good grief I'm just blown away. Where have you been!? No one's heard from you since you left!"

"Oh you know, just traveling," Ash replied while rubbing the back of his head. "I needed to get away from…everyone for a while. I needed to get my bearings back."

At some level, Brock could understand that from Ash. After everything that had gone down, the emotional toll the events had taken on so many of Brock's personal friends, he was at least somewhat glad Ash had given them space. But on another level, Brock had been livid with Ash for running away from his problems and leaving the people he'd affected behind. His mother had been beside herself when Ash had just left without even saying goodbye. The people who Ash had impacted the most were left to simply move on without any sort of closure. And Brock was still livid with his friend for what he'd done that had led to him leaving in the first place.

"Ash, you realize you can't just run away from a mistake, right?" Brock somewhat regretted the stern tone he took, but he couldn't help it.

Ash looked a little taken aback, but recovered quickly and narrowed his eyes at his slightly taller friend, "Brock, I frankly don't believe anyone was that upset that I left. I know they were certainly upset when I was here."

"Yes, Ash, we were upset…You know, this isn't the place for this. Come back to my place and let's get you cleaned up. You smell like you rolled around in ryhorn shit."

Ash laughed at that, "Well I did have a run in with a herd of them a few days back…"

* * *

Brock's date night with Lucy was officially off once she saw they had company, so she and Brock set to making dinner while Ash climbed in their shower to clean off a week's worth of grime from his tired body. He borrowed some of Brock's clothes while they ran the three sets he had taken on his trip through their washing machine.

Once Ash was presentable, he sat down with them at their table and happily began devouring Brock's home cooking that he'd come to love so much. It was mostly quiet as they ate. As the minutes passed, Lucy would look up at Ash and then over to Brock every once in a while and give him a look as if she expected him to say something to the wayward man. Ash finally heard a yelp as he looked up as Brock was rubbing his leg under the table and Lucy was looking sternly in his direction.

"Uh, did I miss something?" Ash asked.

Brock sighed, "Ash, have you talked to Serena or Misty?"

At the sound of _her_ name, Ash set down his utensils and removed the napkin from his lap, "I didn't come here to talk about that."

"You had to have known it would come up, Ash!" Brock said, the tone of his voice rising.

Ash rolled his neck, "I told you I haven't spoken to anyone in six months."

"Well you should," Brock said. "I mean you should **_really_** talk to Misty." Ash noticed the emphasis put on the 'really.'

Ash stood, "Look, thanks for everything, guys, but I think I should be going. I need to get home before nightfall to see my mom."

Brock sighed heavily, but he knew arguing with Ash at that moment wasn't going to bear any fruit, so he simply watched as the younger man walked out the door and down the darkening street. He and Lucy looked at each other with a mixture of sadness and worry.

* * *

Delia had just shut off her television for the night as she headed through the living room toward her bedroom when she heard the knock at the door. _Who could that be? It's far too cold for anyone to be outside tonight._ She made her way over to her front door and undid the bolt and the handle lock, leaving the chain still attached (just in case). She was initially glad she did as she suddenly found herself face to face with a large bearded man with a long pony tail. The hipster clothing made him look a tad less intimidating, and he was clean it seemed, but she was cautious just in case.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Uh, mom…"

Suddenly a wave of familiarity hit her and she recognized the man's eyes. "Ash! Good grief get in out of the cold!" She quickly undid the chain and opened the door, letting her son inside.

Ten minutes later, they were sitting in the living room. Ash had a cup of hot coco in his hands that he was carefully lifting to his lips every once in a while, trying to enjoy it while not burning his tongue. His mother simply sat there observing him. He looked different…leaner. He'd clearly not been eating as much wherever he'd gone, and had to have been doing more physical activity given the broader arms and chest. She worried for her son for six months straight, and now here he was. How was she supposed to react? Angrily? Perhaps that was called for, but the last time she'd seen him she'd been angry with him. Six months of not seeing him just made her want to talk to him.

"Have you been well, honey?"

He nodded and smiled, "Nothing happened that I couldn't handle."

"I missed you, son," she said pointedly.

"Me too, mom," he replied softly.

She closed her eyes and sighed. There was no use getting into what had happened. The past was just that—past. There were things happening now that her son probably had no knowledge of that he was going to have to address.

"Son, have you seen anyone in the last six months? Any of your friends?"

"Nope," he responded matter-of-factly, "I was in complete isolation."

She cringed slightly. No interactions with anyone for six months!?

"Well I suppose you should know that Clemont and Serena have gotten engaged."

She tried to take the edge off with the tone of her voice, but she couldn't tell what Ash was thinking given his reaction. He simply stopped mid sip and then set his cup down on the pokeball coaster that she had set on the table for him.

He nodded, "I'm glad they moved on. That's what I wanted."

She sighed. She had been furious at Ash for what he'd done, but had held on some hope that there could be reconciliation. She loved Serena and her family, and had thought that everything was coming together just splendidly for her son's future when they'd been engaged. But of course life threw everyone a curveball. She was at least glad Ash took the news well.

But then there was another matter, one she'd been intimately involved in for several months with another woman in her son's life. It wasn't her place to tell him, but she did want to help if she could.

"Uh…another thing, Ash, honey," she hesitated as he grabbed a cookie she had set out and begun to chomp on it, "you need to go to Cerulean City, like, tomorrow."

Ash's expression changed to one of annoyance, "Boy, you and Brock, I swear…I'm barely back and you already want me to head over to the last place I want to go right now. The last place Misty probably wants me to go. She didn't want anything to do with me after I basically ruined her life. What is the big deal!?"

"I just think we're looking out for everyone's best interest, honey," she responded, attempting to stay patient, "and I think you should go see her."

Ash couldn't lie, he had been missing Misty like crazy since they'd parted, but he thought she wanted nothing to do with him. He had come into her life after years of not even talking to her, and then in a night he had ruined it. He deserved to be punished, and he tried as hard as he could to punish himself in his rigorous time of solitude. But he didn't want anything bad to happen to Misty. He was in love with her after all.

"Does she want to see me?" he asked softly.

"Of course she does, Ash. She and I have kept quite close in the months since you've been gone, you know."

Ash looked up in surprise, "You have!?"

Delia nodded, "And that's how I know you two have a lot to talk about. So," she stood up and took on her motherly tone, "first thing tomorrow morning you WILL go to the Cerulean Gym and you WILL talk to her. That's that."

"But…" he started, but should have known it was of no use.

"Do not talk back to your mother, young man."

And that was that.

* * *

Ash was glad he'd grown a beard at that point as the wind blew the large snowflakes by his face. He shivered slightly and took another sip of his coffee in a vain attempt to stay warm in the continuing snowstorm. The Cerulean streets were covered in snow which kept most people inside. The few who did make their way down the snow covered sidewalks were in a hurry to get wherever they were going so they could get out of the storm. But Ash simply stood there and looked at the large building across the street. It had changed since the last time he'd seen it. The large dewgong no longer graced the front of the structure. It had been replaced by a large sign in a modernist design that simply read "Cerulean Gym." The bright pastels had been replaced with blacks and grays. To Ash it seemed to strip the intrigue out of the building, but he was sure some League designer had sold the Waterflower sisters on the benefits of minimalism and how it would be easy on the eye. Since when was the League supposed to be easy on the eye?

Another sip of coffee and he realized he'd been standing there long enough to finish it, which he figured was too long. But how on earth was he supposed to go over and actually enter the building? No, it wasn't the building that was the obstacle. It was the four people whom he was sure wanted him dead who lived inside.

Sighing as he chucked the empty cup into the nearest trash bin, Ash finally began making his way across the street. The snow crunched under his feet, and it was the only other thing he could feel other than his heart pounding in his ears. Why was he so nervous? It was just Misty…six months after he'd made love to her and then ran off. _Ah shit,_ he thought as the ramifications of that finally sunk in. He literally had loved her and left her, and now he felt awful again.

The doors to the gym opened automatically as he approached them. They were one of the new features the updated building had to offer it seemed. He stepped into the spacious lobby and was amazed. It was rather dark, the ambiance was formed by the large aquarium that took up the entire lobby and seemed to run the length of the gym. It was gorgeous, and the aquarium lights were the only thing that lit up the lobby. Many water pokemon cast shadows on the walls and floor as they swam lazily around their enclosed habitat. Numerous magikarp, goldeen, staryu, feebas, lanturn, and various other water pokemon lazily floated through the water as Ash looked on in wonder.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" a voice from Ash's left startled him back into reality. "Oh sorry, didn't mean to startle you. Just saw you here and was wondering if you were looking for a gym battle."

"Tracey?" Ash said.

Tracey suddenly realized who he was talking to and grew wide eyed, "Ash! My goodness you've changed! I didn't even recognize you! Oh man…you're actually here!"

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked surprised Tracey wasn't at the lab with Gary and Professor Oak.

"Oh, uh, Daisy and I actually got married while you were gone," Tracey replied while laughing nervously. "It was kind of a spur of the moment thing."

"Oh, wow. That's great, man! Congrats!" Ash pulled the shorter man into a brief and awkward hug and then they pulled away.

The two awkwardly stood there for a moment until Tracey said, "I uh—assume you're here for um…"

"Yeah, is she here?" Ash asked with some trepidation.

"Yeah…" Tracey answered with even more trepidation.

After standing there for a few more moments and nothing happening, Ash pushed on, "Well can you tell her I'm here?"

"Oh," Tracey said as if waking up to a new reality, "um, yeah. Just…give me a few minutes, okay?"

Tracey walked into the back of the lobby toward the living quarters and disappeared. Ash shuffled his feet nervously and then picked up a brochure out of a rack next to the front desk and began flipping through it just to pass the time until he heard what sounded like some yelling and something breaking from where Tracey had just gone. And then out walked three very angry women. Blonde, blue, and pink hair flashed through Ash's vision as suddenly all three women were angrily stalking toward him, forcing him to move back on his heels.

"You! How dare you come here after all this time!" Daisy said, jabbing Ash's chest with her well-manicured finger.

"You sleazy two-timer!" Lilly said and shoved his left shoulder.

"You're not welcome here!" Violet seethed as she shoved his right shoulder.

Ash finally couldn't keep up as he tripped over his own feet and back out of the front door and into the snow bank that had formed at the entrance to the gym.

"Wait!" A fourth voice finally sounded through the lobby, a voice Ash knew all too well. One that soothed his yearning ears and made his heart jump. A voice that was like an angelic choir to him. Or something sappy Brock had once said. Whatever the case, Ash loved that voice.

The three sisters turned and began to quietly and hurriedly converse with the owner of the voice as Ash began to pick himself up off the ground and brush the snow off his rear. He looked up only to see that the three sister were obscuring the person who had called them off. They were gesticulating as if having a heated discussion as Ash stepped back into the building.

"Just let us talk alone for a few minutes, okay?" Ash finally heard Misty say.

"Fine, but, like, if he tries anything we'll be in the next room, Misty."

The three finally moved around Misty as they made their way to the back room. Misty was obscured in the shadows of the aquarium as Ash took a deep breath and took a few tentative steps toward her. She took a step toward him, and then another, as she finally walked into the light and he could see her clearly. Her radiant red hair was long and straight. It hung down to her mid back and framed her gorgeous face. Her cerulean eyes were pools that Ash thought he'd never be able to pull himself out of. The light freckles on her cheeks seemed extra radiant and her lips were shiny with some sort of lip gloss. Her outfit was stylish as a nice tan cardigan hung from her shoulders down past her large belly and to her mid-thigh. She sported a nice pair of blue jeans as well and….wait. Large belly!? Ash's eyes shot back to her stomach and his mouth dropped open as his eyes suddenly shot open and moved back up to her eyes, which contained a look of apprehension and nervousness. Back and forth from her belly to her face Ash looked as he began to feel woozy.

"You're p-pregn..an..t…." and then he fainted.


	6. Chapter 6

"Ash!" It was nice. Sleep was nice.

"Ash!" Ah sleep. He never seemed to get enough of it.

"Ash! Wake up!" Why wouldn't this person leave him alone? He was sleeping.

*SMACK!

Ash's eyes finally opened as the pain of someone smacking him in the face (again!?) shocked him awake. He found himself staring into the face of Misty Waterflower which was simultaneously painted with concern and annoyance.

"Ow, my head," he said as Misty slowly helped him sit up. "Mist, I had the craziest dream."

"Oh?" she said as she lifted one of his arms over her shoulder and helped him stand up.

"Yeah, I hadn't seen you in a long time and you were preg…." Wait a minute.

"Ash, I don't think you were dreaming," she said as she helped him to the couch and let him plop down. She took the seat opposite the couch and separated by a coffee table.

"Oh," he said as he gave her the once over in an albeit groggy state and noticed the bump in her belly. After several moments he finally found the wherewithal to ask, "So…you're really going to be a mother?"

She raised an eyebrow and he could see the fire in her eyes that indicated her temper was flaring. But just as quickly as it flared up, it abated and she gave him a bright smile.

"You catch on quickly, Ash," she said, "but not that quickly." She stood and walked to the kitchen for a few moments and then came back with a glass of water that she sipped on while looking at him.

"Uh…what?" he asked when she stared a little too long.

"I was just wondering if you were going to figure it out on your own," she said with a slight chuckle.

"Well I know what a pregnant woman looks like, Mist," he said with a hint of a pout, "but I must admit it is a little strange seeing you like that."

"Not that, Ash," she said shaking her head.

"Well then what?"

Misty set down her water and leaned over the coffee table, motioning for Ash to do the same thing. He leaned in so that their faces were inches apart, causing him to blush ever so slightly.

"Ash, I am going to be a mother. And do you know why?"

"Uh…I mean…I know how it works…kind of," Ash replied softly.

"I'm going to be a mother because you," she placed her index finger on his nose, "are going to be a father."

"Y-yeah…I know," he admitted.

Misty looked anxiously at him from her seat as she took another sip of her water attempting to read the champion's reaction to being told he was a father. She'd been in a haze for the better part of the last six months. Her engagement broke off shockingly quickly, and all communication with her former fiancé and his family dissolved immediately. She became largely a pariah given the media's response to what had happened, which painted her largely as public skank numero uno, especially after Mahri gave an off-the-cuff angry interview to a pesky reporter. So, Misty shut herself up in her gym and stopped accepting challenges, leaving the official gym business to her sisters. She only left the gym in disguise, and was thankfully able to keep the pregnancy from the media. She could only imagine what they would do once they found out she was pregnant with the Pokemon League Champion's child.

And then there was the fact that Ash had just skipped town. She knew she had blown him off the last time they had seen each other, but she didn't expect him to leave without a trace for half a year. And her anxiety got even worse once the morning sickness started and she discovered the little gift he had left her.

And as the memories of the last few months ran through her head, almost without thinking, she turned the glass of water over and dumped the remainder in Ash's lap.

"HEY! Geez, Mist, what was that for!?"

"For leaving without saying a damn thing! For leaving me not knowing if you'd come back! Not knowing if you'd ever meet our child!"

 _Our child._ That sounded weird to Ash…but also somehow…right?

"Mist, if I had known I would never have gone!" he insisted stridently.

She turned on him angrily, "Well you didn't even stick around to find out! I had to deal with all of it by myself. The breakup, the media, the pregnancy! All of it! You ran off at the first sight of trouble like a child. Must be nice, Mr. Champion."

She began to stomp off toward the stairs but was caught by her arm and spun around into the strong arms of Ash Ketchum.

"You're right," he said looking deep into her bluish green eyes, "I can't take that back. I…I thought giving everyone space was what I needed to do. That removing the problem, me, from the equation would allow everyone to heal. I didn't know I was leaving this behind."

She balled her fists and hit him softly in his chest, "Why didn't you come see me? You told Tracey you meant everything you said about loving me, so why would you leave!?"

"Because you should hate me," he said, "I came back and ruined your life. I didn't want to ruin it any further."

"Goddammit Ash," she whispered, "I could never hate you. And you didn't ruin my life. I chose to do what we did. I chose…you. It wasn't a mistake."

At that she reached up and softly kissed him. He grabbed each side of her face and pulled her in closer, deepening the kiss. The months of yearning to be with each other fueled a fiery passion. Misty reached her hands under his shirt and clawed at his back while Ash lifted her up by her rear end and moved her back against a wall. Ash broke off the kiss only briefly in order to begin nibbling Misty's neck which elicited a loud moan from the redhead. Too loud in fact, as her sisters stormed into the room suddenly with looks of shock plastered on their faces.

"Misty, what in the hell are you doing!?" yelled Daisy as she stormed toward the now red-faced duo.

"Uh…making up?" she said sheepishly.

"You mean making out! What, were you just going to fuck each other here in the lobby!?"

Misty and Ash looked at each other with an embarrassed grin. Yeah, they probably were.

"Ugh," Daisy growled, "don't answer that." Then she turned to Ash and stepped up to him and stuck a finger in his face, "What are your intentions here, Romeo? Are you going to leave my sister again?"

"N-no! Never!" Ash stammered, amazed at how much the Waterflower temper seemed to run in the family.

"You ruined two engagements, champ," Daisy continued, "and hurt a lot of people. And then you ran like a little pussy…"

"Look," Ash cut her off, which he thought in hindsight might have been a bad idea, but it was too late, "I would never have left if I'd have known what had happened! Look, I love your sister. We didn't handle it the right way. We fucked up royally. But I for one am willing to try to make up for it! And the fist way I'm going to do that is to marry her!"

The room went quiet except for the faint sound of a pokeball opening deep within the gym and a faint "PSY!?" sounding out into the lobby. Daisy stumbled back a few steps and ran her hand through her hair. Misty walked back up to Ash and placed her hands on his cheeks.

"A-are you serious?" she said softly.

"Absolutely! And we can do it however you want! Big wedding! Small! Justice of the peace! You just say the word and…" he was cut off by her lips once again pressing against his as her sisters groaned again.

* * *

It was rushed and it was small, but there was a wedding a few days later. The two of them were able to invite their closest friends: Brock, Gary, May, Dawn. Of course Dr. Oak and Delia were there, along with Misty's sisters. And for the first time in months, the two of them were actually happy. There were still things they needed to deal with. They both really wanted to make amends with the people they'd hurt, but that would have to wait, and it would have to be done delicately. And they both realized it may not work at all, but they were going to try eventually.

They spent their wedding night in the swankiest hotel in Cerulean city, and the next day they flew out to the Orange Islands for a week in one of the most secluded islands in the Archipelago. It was there that the spark that had rekindled upon their meeting in Saffron City was able to ignite into a full blown fire. They were able to reconnect in a way that they hadn't been able to in years. They reminisced, joked, laughed, traveled around the island, and various other activities that they had enjoyed so many years ago…except for all of the, erhem, sex in between the other activities of course. That was new.

But as their time on the Island came to a close, it became clear that they weren't quite sure where they would go from there. He was the Champion, and as such had certain responsibilities to the Pokemon League, not the least of which was directing the Kanto/Johto regional G-Man squads. She was technically the Cerulean City Gym Leader, but hadn't been seen in public for months. Theirs was obviously going to be a very public relationship, and add on to that the recent past events and the recipe for potential disaster was clear.

"So," Misty said partway into their conversation, "just how are we going to approach this?"

They both laid on a blanket near the beach under a palm tree enjoying a few snacks they had packed. Ash had been thinking about just that topic as they'd discussed their future and suddenly developed a devious smile. "You know, the media certainly has made this whole thing pretty hard on everyone."

Misty nodded in disgusted agreement as she recalled the reporters' cameras and microphones being shoved in her face on a daily basis as she would simply try to enter the gym.

"There's a big League party coming up," Ash said. "A bunch of the bigwigs are supposed to show up. The E4, the president, but most importantly, the media. Technically my sabbatical isn't up, so I wasn't planning on going," Ash said and began playing with a lock of her hair, "but what if we…crashed the party?"

"Huh?" she asked bemused.

"Think of it, we just show up, arm in arm like nothing ever happened. Like it's totally normal. I'll even get up and make a speech like I always do. It'll be hilarious! And it'll make the media so mad that they missed the big scoop of…well…us! We'll finally get to control the story!"

Was Misty ready to go from recluse to center stage? She had to admit she found the prospect of the jealous erudite faces in a room full of stuffed shirt League officials and elitist media members scintillating.

"You know," she said, smiling mischievously, "given the fact that we're bound to attend a bunch of these boring thigs together, I think it's a great idea to make our first one memorable."

* * *

Gabby Michelle and Ty Derrick hated this gig. League meetings were typically dull affairs with a stuffy atmosphere and boring content. There were so many other juicy topics for them to chase, but they were stuck at the Indigo Plateau taking pictures of and interviewing League bigwigs about practically nothing. Normally the only even remotely exciting thing that would happen is Bruno getting slightly drunk and saying something completely sexist and inappropriate. But even that had lost its charm for the duo of reporters.

"Have you tried these deviled eggs, Gabby?" Ty asked while trying to chew.

She nodded and took a sip of her wine, determined to at least drink enough that the event was worth it.

Suddenly the main doors flew open. The party was fairly loud at that point, so not too many people noticed, and Gabby really only noticed because of her proximity to the entrance. At first she made nothing of it, but suddenly did a double take once she saw who strolled confidently through the doors.

"Ty!" she said poking her partner.

"One sec," he said as he leaned over the table to grab another mini sandwich, "these things are great!"

She suddenly and forcefully grabbed his head and forced him to look to the notorious and recently reclusive pair who entered the event hall.

"Holy shit!" he said and scrambled to pull out his camera.


	7. Chapter 7

Misty stood uncomfortably as the small plane finally came to a stop. She put a pair of dark sunglasses on and tied a headscarf around her orange flowing locks. Kalos wasn't anywhere near Kanto, but she was still an international celebrity, and being swarmed by any press or cabal of fans, foreign or otherwise, was not what she wanted that day.

The pilot of the small jet walked back into the passenger cabin and announced to her, "We've landed, ma'am."

She nodded and leaned back a bit to stretch her tire back. _Eight months pregnant and I'm flying. What am I thinking!?_

But she hadn't co-opted her husband's private jet while he was busy with League business at the Indigo Plateau for a pleasant getaway. No, she had flown all the way to Kalos eight months pregnant to talk to someone.

The pilot lowered the exit stairs and stepped down and then helped Misty descend the stairs. "Will you be needing anything else, ma'am?" he asked dutifully.

"No, please just be ready to leave tomorrow morning," she replied.

She made her way through the Lumiose airport and then hailed a taxi and instructed the driver to take her to the business district. She double checked a piece of paper on which she had scribbled an address and the name of a shop before folding it and sticking it back into her pocket. The driver engaged her in some small talk and even congratulated her on her very noticeable bump. She simply thanked him, not wanting to reveal too much.

She spent much of the trip taking in the sights of the foreign city. It was huge. Tall buildings surrounded her, but there were also quaint buildings that had a certain aged appeal and showed off the city's long history. It was laid out like a wheel, and at the hub was the huge Lumiose tower. The landmark was as breathtaking as Ash had told her, and it was hard to believe that it also acted as the city's Pokemon gym.

The cab took a right and ran along the base of the tower as it finally pulled up to Misty's destination. She paid the driver and thanked him for his gracious hospitality and then gingerly exited the cab. She took in her surroundings as she absentmindedly rubbed her stomach and felt the small protrusions from within kick against her hand. She smiled and took a deep breath and entered the clothing shop that she had traveled thousands of miles to visit.

The clothes were absolutely gorgeous. Different styles lined the walls and adorned store's mannequins. Misty was in awe at the talent of the designer. For the past couple of months, she had had media relations people from within the league choose much of her attire, but compared to what she saw in that shop in Kalos, the League fashion designers seemed like children playing dress-up.

"Hello, ma'am," a voice behind Misty suddenly sounded, "I hope you're finding what you need."

Misty turned and gasped slightly at the person who approached her, but she recovered quickly, "Um, yes. These styles are amazing. They're much more stylish than what I'm used to back in Kanto."

"Oh," the shop owner said, "well you must be here on vacation. Are you looking for some maternity syles? Or for something to wear once the baby comes?"

Misty hesitated, "Actually, I'm here for a different reason, though I would love to see what you think would look good on me later."

"Well what else can I do for you?" the young designer asked.

Misty removed her glasses and headscarf and the shop owner's face contorted into shock and she gasped. "I was hoping I could take you out for some coffee, Serena."

* * *

 _If looks could kill,_ Misty thought as she sheepishly sipped her latte across the table from the blonde woman who was boring two holes through her skull with her eyes. Serena hadn't touched her coffee, and hadn't spoken to Misty since she'd curtly accepted Misty's invitation to the coffee shop just down the road from Serena's clothing store. For the past several minutes she'd simply glared angrily at the redhead and they had sat in awkward silence since. Misty was glad she was pregnant, because she figured that was all that was keeping Serena from leaping across the table and tearing all of her hair out by the roots.

Misty was still trying to work out exactly how to approach things with the young Kalosian, when Serena finally blurted angrily, "So are you here to fuck up my wedding? Again!?"

Several people around them seemed to glance in their direction briefly as Misty nervously fiddled with the Cascade Badge that Ash had attached to a necklace for her.

Serena continued, a little louder than Misty would have liked, "What did I ever do to you, huh!? I don't even fucking know you and you show up in my life not once, but twice! Right before I'm going to be married! Are you here to seduce my current fiancé too?"

"No I—of course not! I'm married!" Misty sputtered.

Serena guffawed, "Well that certainly didn't stop you before! I mean, case in point. You're at least eight months pregnant and yet the papers say you got married two months ago?"

"Okay, that's fair," Misty responded softly, trying to bring the tone of the conversation down a notch as the little one in her kicked a couple of times.

"So what, _Mrs. Ketchum,"_ Serena said, stuffing as much sarcasm into 'Mrs. Ketchum' as she possibly could, "are you doing here? Have you come to gloat? To laugh in my face?"

"No, I…"

"Because if you weren't carrying an innocent bystander, I'd probably set aside my ladylike disposition just for you!" Serena was livid.

"I came to apologize!" Misty said too loudly, her face red and her voice strained. Why did she feel odd all of a sudden?

Serena sat back and finally took a sip of her coffee. She still looked angry, but her features had softened a bit, and Misty took the opportunity to continue.

"Look, I have gone through a lot, and it's all been of my own doing," she said, straining slightly, "but it's nothing compared to what I put you through. The guilt has been crushing. And while I don't expect us to suddenly become best friends or anything, I was hoping I could at least leave here with you knowing how incredibly sorry I am for everything I put you through."

Serena sat for a moment and drank some more of her coffee, taking in the seemingly heartfelt apology from the pregnant woman. "Did Ash put you up to this?" She asked.

Misty shook her head, "He doesn't even know I'm here."

"So you think this will just make everything hunky dory?" Serena seethed.

"No," Misty admitted, "but I was hoping it could at least…I don't know…help heal old wounds?" Misty all of a sudden began to feel her back tighten up.

"I'm not sure what to say to you," Serena said and stood up, "you and that bastard husband of yours don't even know what I went through. If it wasn't for Clemont, I don't know what I would have done."

Misty began to strain as the pain in her back intensified. And then suddenly it felt like something inside her popped and a warm fluid began to run down her legs. She gasped loudly and pitched forward, knocking her coffee onto the floor and attracting the attention of multiple people in the coffee shop, not the least of whom was Serena, who suddenly had a shocked and worried expression on her face as she quickly made her way around the table and knelt next to Misty.

"Are you okay!? Hey?" Serena asked, all the animosity suddenly having left her voice.

"I…I think my water just broke," Misty replied.

* * *

 **AN - Sorry this one is so short, but it didn't take much too much to get to where I wanted to go in this one. What do you all think?**


	8. Chapter 8

It had been two months since he and Misty crashed the league meeting, and Ash was still hearing it from league advisors, officials, and the president himself how terrible he was at handling his public persona. Not only did a large number of people now see him as a homewrecker (according to recent polls), but they saw him as cocky and egotistical after his little coming out party with Misty at the meeting. So he and every single league employee was now being subject to a weekend long conference on how to make the league look good to the media, and how to handle their own public image. Barely awake with his chin resting in his hand, the Champion realized just how little he cared what the media thought at that point. What right did they have to pry into his personal life and trash he and especially Misty in print? Frankly, he thought they were just butthurt over the fact they missed the big scoop that was his wedding.

But it was one of his responsibilities as league champion to be the face of the league, and he hadn't done a great job of that in the past several months. Of course, the several years before that of a spotless record, not to mention increased interest from new trainers, and a 35% increase in Pokemon License applications since his winning the championship had all been forgotten because he had gone about things poorly with Misty. Why wasn't he getting credit for owning his mistakes and doing the right thing? Oh right, the media liked sex scandals, not responsible mistake corrections.

Well maybe things would begin to turn around once the baby came. The media loved babies, right? Ugh, but that was the last thing he wanted for his child; to be plastered all over the media. Some celebrities seemed to revel in their children shining in the limelight, but Ash was terrified how a champion's child would grow up under all of that scrutiny and pressure. How many celebrity children ended up complete messes? No! Ash was resolute! His child would receive only the best! They were going to be a normal family with a normal kid who did everything normally and then would grow up to be a Pokemon Master like their dad.

Ash's attention was diverted from his thoughts when he saw the conference room door open and his secretary scurried across the room toward him. The young girl had a panicked look in her eye as she leaned over and whispered in Ash's ear. Ash immediately jumped from his chair, knocking it to the ground, and sprinted for the exit.

* * *

Misty suddenly found herself on her back in the suddenly very busy coffee shop. An officer Jenny, who happened to have been in the shop, had rushed over as soon as Misty had said her water broke. But Misty hadn't been able to walk. The pain in her back was almost constant and she was having trouble breathing.

Jenny had ordered everyone out of the coffee shop, but Misty had requested desperately that Serena stay. Serena now kneeled next to the redhead wide-eyed and clearly somewhat shell-shocked. Another painful contraction hit Misty and she grabbed Serena's hand out of instinct. Serena winced slightly at Misty's grip, but was too shocked to do much else.

"Okay, there's no way we're getting to a hospital," Jenny said having already removed Misty's panties under her maternity dress and having inspected the stage of labor, "this baby is coming now!"

"What!?" Misty screamed. "I can't have my baby in a coffee shooopppaaaahhhhhhH!"

Another contraction racked her body as she, almost involuntarily, pushed and started to feel something move…and hurt. A lot.

"You, grab her leg!" Jenny commanded Serena, who complied almost automatically. "You!" Jenny yelled to a person with a camera who just so happened to be a reporter who hadn't left when Jenny told everyone else to. "Grab her other leg!"

The young female reporter nodded and kneeled down opposite Serena and held Misty's other leg. Misty glared at her in between contractions (which wasn't very long at that point) and the young reporter smiled guiltily, "I'm Alexa," she said softly. Misty didn't feel so bad when she grabbed her hand and squeezed hard during another painful push.

"Keep breathing," Jenny said as she took up position between Misty's legs, "and push with the contractions."

The next one came, and Misty pushed, and it was the most intense pain she'd ever felt as she felt the baby's head clear.

"That's good!" Jenny encouraged. "One more push!"

The next contraction came, and Misty pushed and hurt and then felt the baby slip the rest of the way out. And there was relief. Jenny took off her police jacket and wrapped the little one, who had started letting everyone know she was there, and began wiping her off softly. She then handed the baby, still attached to her umbilical cord, to a shocked Serena suddenly and took her place back between Misty's legs.

"Alright, time for the next one," she said.

"W-what!?" Misty said as another contraction suddenly compelled her to push as she felt another baby's head start to crown.

"You didn't know you're having twins!?" Jenny pressed over Misty's screams.

Misty laid her head back to rest for a moment. Twins? Really!? The next contraction came and, "GRRRRRRAAAAAAAA!"

* * *

Ash sprinted through the airport toward his commercial flight to Kalos in a veritable panic. Misty had taken his private jet and he somehow hadn't been alerted. Since when did they allow spouses to just take their husband's private jet!? He was going to have to have a talk to her about that. He had seriously considered getting Charizard to fly him, but he didn't figure a 12 hour flight on the back of his pokemon, no matter how powerful it was, would be comfortable or safe.

He arrived at his gate and stepped up to security. He didn't even have a bag to check, as he didn't take time to stop. He'd literally made the call to the airport while sprinting out of the Pokemon League building.

The televisions in the terminal were all tuned to the Pokemon News Network, and had all picked up, to Ash's chagrin, the story.

"I'm standing here outside of the Creamy Café in Lumiose, Kalos. The shop has been shut down by local police and the reports coming from those who were inside are that Misty Ketchum, the Cerulean City gym leader and recently married spouse of Kanto Champion, Ash Ketchum, is, in fact, delivering her baby inside the coffee shop. It is unclear why Mrs. Ketchum is in Kalos, and there are no reports of the Kanto champion being here at all. It was only recently revealed that she was at least 6 months pregnant when she and her new husband made a surprise appearance at a recent league event a few weeks ago."

Ash stood wide eyed as he watched the report. She was having the baby IN the coffee shop!? He had to get down there!

* * *

The paramedics finally arrived and Misty was placed on a gurney instead of the cold hard floor. Alexa handed her her newly born son and Serena approached with Misty's new daughter and gently laid it into her other arm. Misty looked lovingly at the two. The girl had red hair and the boy had stark black. Misty chuckled as they slept peacefully for now.

Officer Jenny, who had stuffed her amniotic fluid covered jacket in a plastic bag, approached the tired mother, "How are you feeling Mrs. Ketchum?"

"I'm fine," Misty smiled, "just tired. Still trying to wrap my head around this."

"Well they're taking you and the babies to the hospital just for precautionary reasons. Congratulations," Jenny said with a smile that broke through her typically dutiful demeanor. "I have word that your husband has been alerted and is on his way."

"Thank you so much, Officer Jenny," Misty said with as big a smile as she could muster in her exhausted state, relieved that Ash was now in the know (and a little trepidatious given her "theft" of his private jet).

Jenny left and Misty looked over to Serena, who still looked shell shocked and didn't look like she knew what to do with herself. "Serena, I don't know what to say. Thank you so much for staying. I don't know what I'd have done without you." Misty knew it was the rush of different hormones, but she couldn't keep from crying at that point.

Serena stepped forward and laid her hand on Misty's shoulder, "It was…certainly an experience," she giggled, causing Misty to also laugh.

"I hate to ask, but…would you mind driving with me to the hospital?"

Serena smiled and nodded, "I might as well. We've made it this far, huh?"

* * *

Twelve hours and absolutely no sleep later, Ash found himself stumbling out of the terminal in the Lumiose airport. He wasn't as big of a deal this far from Kanto, but some people still recognized him and gathered around hoping for a photo or an autograph. He pushed by them panicked and groggy and sprinted toward the airport exit. He hailed a cab as rain began to fall, making him wet and adding to his already disheveled appearance.

The cab pulled up and Ash yanked open the door and plopped down in the backseat. He was tired, but his entire body was shaking, high on the adrenaline that was keeping him going. The cabbie gave him a sideways glance and almost thought he'd acquired a hobo in his backseat, but professionally he asked, "Where to?"

Ash was surprised at how hoarse he sounded, "Lumiose Memorial Hospital."

The ride took an agonizing twenty five minutes as every single stoplight clearly had it in for the champion trying to reach his wife and new baby. During the ride, sleep overcame Ash, but only for a couple of minutes as they reached their destination and the cabby shook him awake. Ash paid too much, as he didn't bother counting the wad of cash he threw at the cab driver, and then stumbled through the front door of the hospital. After too long searching, he finally found a reception desk.

"I'm looking for Misty Ketchum," he said gruffly.

The receptionist looked up from her chart and bolted up from her chair. "Mr. Champion! Of course! We've been expecting you. Right this way," she said hurriedly and led him quickly down the hall to the elevators. "Maternity is on the fourth floor. You'll need to check in at the desk and be escorted to her room."

The elevator ride seemed even slower than the cab ride as he watched the digital display change with every floor. Finally, the number changed from three to four and the elevator dinged and he bolted to the reception desk. This nurse had a similar reaction to the one in the main lobby, except she gave him a sign in sheet to fill out, which he did quickly. She escorted him down the hall to Misty's room and opened the door.

He quickly sidestepped her and entered the room and then stopped in shock at what he saw. Misty laid propped up with her hands in her lap and she smiled at him when she saw him. But the other two people he saw in the room, each holding one baby, were two people he didn't think he'd ever see again. Clemont and Serena both looked up from the children they were holding and looked at the wet, tired, disheveled young man who had just entered the room. And no one said anything for quite some time.


	9. Chapter 9

Ash was tired, confused, and really hungry, which only added to his inability to understand the situation that he suddenly found himself in. He must have stood there for a whole minute before other people in the room took the initiative to make something happen.

Serena slowly approached him. She didn't look him in the eye, but she stood up straight and walked confidently up to him. He swallowed a giant lump that seemed to suddenly appear in his throat and looked down at her and the small orange haired infant that she held.

"Ash," she said softly, finally jerking him out of his stupor and placing the baby into his arms, "this is your daughter."

Ash's ability to process information suddenly stopped as he stared into the blue orbs that were his daughter's eyes. He gazed breathlessly at her curious face as everything else around him seemed to stop. But a hand on his shoulder and a soft voice jerked him out of his moment of bliss.

"And this," Serena had taken the other baby from Clemont and handed it to Ash so that he had a child in each arm, "is your son."

Ash had to find a chair, partly because it was a little awkward to hold two babies as he was, but mostly because he felt like he was going to faint.

It took some time, but Ash finally began to become lucid again after the emotional shock of being introduced to not just one, but two children. His children. The feeling welling up inside of him after the shock wore off was one of giddiness. He suddenly jumped out of the chair, children in his arms, and rushed over to his wife and kissed her deeply. She chuckled through the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you so much," he said after pulling away.

"I love you," she responded.

"We will need to talk about you stealing my plane and flying to another country, though," he said half-jokingly.

Ash suddenly remembered the other two people in the room. He looked over at Clemont and Serena, who were standing next to each other. Clemont had his arm around her and she was leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Oh, uh…" Ash started, not really sure how to talk to them. The last time he'd seen them he'd broken her heart, and Clemont had almost broken his face.

"Ash…" Serena acknowledged him.

"Hey," Ash responded, "So, uh, this is not exactly what I expected."

"Serena helped deliver our children, dear," Misty said.

Ash stood there stupefied for another moment, "Really!?"

"Yep, she helped deliver our coffee shop babies."

Ash wasn't sure exactly how he was supposed to react to that, so all he could manage was a meager, "Thanks!"

Serena chuckled and responded softly, "You're welcome, Ash."

"Look," Ash said as he handed the children to Misty, "I guess there are some things that we left unsaid. I am truly sorry for how I handled things. You didn't deserve that, Serena."

Serena sighed and nodded, "You know, it was really hard. But on the other hand, if you hadn't done it, I'd have never figured out who the man I was truly supposed to be with was. So in some weird, twisted, should-have-been-handled-differently sort of way, I guess we should thank you too."

"So," Ash started carefully, "is it too optimistic to think we could all still be….friends?"

Clemont took a few steps toward Ash, who shrunk back a bit, and placed his hand on Ash's shoulder, "You know, you're still a dick for how things went down. But I ended up with the Kalos Queen because of you, and you were always like a brother to Bonnie and me, Ash. I think, given the way things turned out, we can put the whole messy business behind us."

And the group embraced. Ash sputtered out more apologies that were muffled into his friends' shoulders, and Misty smiled as she snuggled with the two newcomers in the hospital bed. She couldn't have been happier with how things had turned out, even if it hadn't been exactly how she'd planned.

* * *

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop right there, because this is either the funniest thing I've ever heard, or the most ridiculous. Or both. You're telling me, the chick you cheated on helped deliver the babies conceived in that betrayal? And then the guy who defended her honor, and the girl you cheated on, became the godparents for your bastard babies!?"

"I don't know that that word really applies, Gary," Ash responded as the young researcher threw his head back in laughter, "but yes. I guess that's what happened."

"Call my kids that again, Oak, and see where it gets you," a miffed Misty said as she rocked a double stroller back and forth next to her seat within the pokemon researcher's living room.

"Oh come on, Red," Gary said as he wiped the tears of laughter away from his eyes and placed his glasses back on his face, "I'm just joking with you. And I thought it was going to be Leaf and me who had the most screwed up relationship stories here, but that takes the cake, right babe?"

"Shut up, Garebear," the brown-haired woman replied as she elbowed her husband in the ribs.

"Well," Brock said from the seat across from Ash with his arm around his smiling wife, "all's well that ends well, right?"

"I think we'll see if everything ends well tomorrow, Brocko," Ash replied, "one way or another."

* * *

Rudy sat nervously in the large ornate meeting room in the eastern wing of the Indigo Plateau complex. He'd received a summons from the league the week before, and he was having trouble imagining what he could have done wrong. Typically they left the Orange Island gyms largely to their own devices since the league only had a tangential interest in the Orange Island league given its minor league status. The last time a gym leader had been summoned to the league offices, they'd been summarily fired and arrested for cruelty to pokemon. But Rudy was never cruel to pokemon. He prided himself on the highest standards of gym leadership, and was training his sister to take over for him. He just had no idea what to expect. He just hoped he didn't have to see the champion.

At that thought, the double doors to the room swung open and in walked the champion, his red cape flowing behind as he confidently took his place across from Rudy. He sat and opened a folder that he had carried into the room and began scanning it, not once looking at the agitated gym leader.

"You!" Rudy growled.

"Mr. Trovita," Ash began, "under several prestigious recommendations, I have been reviewing your files. Your record as a gym leader is quite impressive. Especially for one of our minor leagues."

Rudy was speechless all of a sudden. He gaped at Ash, who finally raised his eyes and looked at him.

"Rudy, what would you say to becoming a member of the Elite Four?"

"I…I…what?" Rudy stammered.

"One of our members is looking at retiring in the next several months, and I need a replacement. Your record is impeccable. I have witnesses that vouch for your character. You'd be a perfect candidate. What do you say?"

Rudy took a moment to process the information, but then his eyes narrowed. "I know what this is," he said, "and I do not need your charity, Mr. Champion."

Ash shook his head, "Rudy, look, this isn't like that. Yes, I did think of you because of what happened, and yes, this is an attempt at an apology, but the reason I'm choosing you is because you truly are an exemplary candidate. Trust me, we looked at other candidates too, and there were plenty of reasons to choose you over them. This is up to you, but I really want you on this team."

"What makes you think I want to work with you!?" Rudy yelled, slamming his hands on the table.

"Because I think you want to be the one to challenge me. Question my ideas. Call me out when I'm being an idiot. I also know you'll do it with integrity, which is something we need around here. If that doesn't convince you, here's your salary," Ash pushed a piece of paper across the table which caused Rudy to audibly gasp, "and here are college benefits for immediate family…such as siblings…hint hint."

"I…don't know…" Rudy hesitated.

"What more do I have to do? League car? Meal allowance?" Ash laughed, but then said seriously, "Look Rudy, this is a great opportunity for you. Don't let this pass you by because of me. I'm not worth it."

Rudy looked at the benefits and was blown away. He could send Mahri to college! She wouldn't have to take over the gym after all. They could pay off all their debts. And he could fulfill a dream he'd had since he was a little boy. He looked up at the champion and studied his gaze. He found it serious and sincere. Rudy reached out his hand to Ash, and they shook on it.

* * *

The sound of screaming infants pierced his ears as he entered the small Pallet Town abode. He smiled as he observed his mother and his wife, both with a baby on the floor in front of them, changing their respective diapers.

"They sound pleased with their current circumstance," Ash said as he gave all four people in the house a kiss.

"Here," Misty said as she shoved their raven haired son into Ash's arms, "I have to feed the other one."

She grabbed a shawl and threw it over her front so she could feed the baby girl modestly. Ash smiled and rocked the boy as he began to try to see what Ash's finger tasted like.

"I'll get some dinner ready," Delia said after she'd spent some time admiring all of the new additions to her family. She'd finally gotten those grandkids she wanted.

"So?" Misty probed.

"So what?" Ash teased.

"You know, smartass," she stuck her tongue out at him, "did Rudy accept?"

"Yep."

Misty nodded. She was happy they were in a position to at least try to make amends where they could. She knew nothing they did fully would cover up what they'd done, but they could at least offer olive branches where possible.

Ash, for his part, finally had a chance to just sit and rest. It had been a hell of a year and a half, but it finally seemed like things were starting to slow down and normalize. Maybe they could live a normal life after all.

A sudden knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts and he softly placed the sleeping baby he held into his cradle and began to make his way to the front door. "I've got it!"

As soon as he grabbed the handle, the door burst open knocking him back a few steps as three overly enthusiastic women suddenly burst into their house.

"We heard there were babies here!" Iris, Dawn, and May announced as they blew by Ash without so much of a 'Hello' and made their way into the living room and began cooing over Misty and the two babies.

 _Well,_ Ash thought to himself and chuckled and stroked the small yellow mouse pokemon that suddenly jumped onto his shoulder, _maybe nothing will ever be totally normal._

And that was just how he wanted it.

The End

* * *

 **A/N: Well I hope everyone is pleased with the ending. I had fun writing this short and quick story full of all the dramas. This has actually been more popular than my long-chaptered main story, The Championship. I hope you'll give it a read as well as it still has quite a bit more to go.**

 **I want to thank my reviewers (in no particular order) such as Cake0108, Mrs. Nose, Korrasami 88, UnbreakableWarrior, and anyone else who left a review here.**

 **For more good Pokemon stories, I recommend anything by NINT, Skylight Sparkle's series of movie rewrites and her epic original story that plays off of those, In Love and War by** **legionaireofthe10th, Rising from the Ashes by TheCriticalHit, a great high school AU fic, The Space Between Us, by superstarmie, and a relatively new epic fic, A Heart So True, by tinybabyleafs.**

 **Thanks again! Let me know what you think of this story!**


End file.
